Like Family
by The Flame and Hawk's Eye
Summary: When Edward joined the military, he and Alphonse thought they knew what to expect. One thing they didn't expect, however, was that they would gain a new family. A series of one-shots centering around Parental!RoyRiza/EdAl before, during, and after Brotherhood, with bits of Royai, Edwin, and the rest of Team Mustang.
1. Hospital Stay

"What're you looking at, bastard," Edward huffed as he leaned back against the hospital bed's headboard and stared down the visitor he least wanted to see.

"A problem child," Roy Mustang replied dryly as he leaned forward and braced his elbows against his knees, weaving his fingers together as he continued to eye the young boy wearily. "You do realize this makes the _second_ time you were admitted to the hospital this month, right?"

Edward shrugged his automail shoulder up and down, taking care not to move the left one, which was doing little to support the left arm he had in a sling. "Yeah, so what's it to you? It's all included in my stipend anyways, so I can visit as often as I want to."

The Colonel sighed and shook his head, already over the prepubescent teen's seemingly never-ending angst phase. He thought he knew what to expect when the child signed up for the military. However, he was beginning to realize he had been sorely mistaken. "Up to a certain extent," he admitted quietly.

"What was that," Edward asked as he raised a brow, turning his head to look at the Colonel.

"I said," Roy repeated with a sigh, "That you get this health coverage up to a certain extent."

Narrowing his eyes, Edward grumbled, "Explain, Colonel Bastard."

Roy knew he shouldn't have uttered anything. He had allowed the boy's constantly swinging mood to get the better of him, causing him to say something he shouldn't have said.

"I'm waiting," Edward muttered impatiently. "I'd like to know before keel over right here from old age."

Roy resisted the urge to fire back with a snarky comment, but held back. Finally he sighed again and said, "If you pay the military hospital too many visits in a short span of time, your health funds will be cut."

"What?! They can't do that," Edward argued as he leaned forward and shot the Colonel a critical glare. "That's not fair! What about other-"

"What other patients, Fullmetal," Roy replied, cutting the youth off. "You're the one that's in here most frequently. You've been admitted _eight_ times since you first joined six months ago."

"But they can't turn away a patient," Edward fought back, his anger about to boil over. "That's illegal."

"It is," Roy agreed, "They aren't ever going to turn you away. But," he continued, "They _will_ make you pay."

Casting the Colonel a wary glance, Edward grumbled, "How much will they make me pay?"

"Well," Roy began again as he tried to find the right words, "A dislocated shoulder, laceration repair, and medications similar to what you were presented with would cost around…" He paused as he did the math in his head, "Around fifteen thousand cens."

Edward's jaw instantly dropped open as he processed the number in his head. After a few moments of wordlessness, he stammered, "You… You mean fifteen hundred, right?"

Roy shook his head wistfully. "Unfortunately not." Leaning back and raising his hand, he held up three fingers. "That's fifteen with three zeroes."

Finding himself at a loss for words again, Edward looked away and down at his lap, launching himself into a silent panic, his eyes flitting back and forth as his mind undoubtedly went into overdrive.

Unable to watch the young teen agonize over this issue, Roy reached out and clapped a hand down on Edward's automail shoulder, the sound pulling the boy back out of his mind. When Edward's golden eyes moved up to find Roy's, his heart dropped.

The youth was incredibly stressed, his eyes wide and his look desperate. Then his breathing began to quicken as the reality began to sink in.

This wasn't right. A child, _a thirteen year old child_ , should not have to think about money this way, this severely. Moving his hand up to the junction between Edward's automail and flesh shoulder, Roy squeezed, signaling for the boy to stop.

"Hey, it's okay," he began.

"No it's not," Edward objected as another wave of panic tore through him. "How could I be so… so stupid? That money I just wasted could have gone to searching for the stone so I can get Al's body back. I can't," he yelped as he tried to swing his legs over the side of the bed, "I can't stay here anymore. Tell them I'm discharging myself. I won't have to pay anymore. I-"

Roy's grip on the youth's shoulder prevented him from going any further. "Edward," he snapped, trying to get the boy's attention back on him.

Hearing his name, he looked back up at Roy, the panic still evident in his eyes.

"Fullmetal," Roy said again, now that he got his attention. "It's okay, alright?"

"No it's not," Edward argued as he ducked away from Roy's hand. "I was careless and stupid! I just wasted fifteen-"

"No, you didn't," Roy interjected, stopping Edward once more. When the boy's eyebrows rose in confusion, he explained slowly, "You didn't. I was telling you what it could cost so that you'd know better next time. This time they've decided to make an exception, so you're off the hook."

"So, I'm not going to have to pay," Edward asked as his a sign of relief spread across his face.

"No," Roy said again as he shook his head. "I just wanted you to be aware of the situation and costs. Just be careful next time, okay?" When Edward nodded, he added, "We don't like seeing you end up here, Edward, so I mean it. Be safe."

"Okay," the young blond muttered as he leaned back and propped himself up against his pillows, his panicked spell having finally passed. Eyeing the Colonel again, he muttered, "I'm sorry and… I'll try to be more careful," as he nodded toward the sling that supported his left arm.

"It's alright," Roy replied back as he shook his head. "Just make sure you take care of yourself, because in the end that'll determine how and when you two will get your bodies back."

Edward nodded in understanding and was about to say something back when a nurse walked in and interrupted him, saying, "I'm sorry, Colonel, but visiting hours are over. It's time to let Edward rest."

Turning toward the nurse, Roy nodded and placed a hand on the back of his chair, grabbing his coat as he did so. Rising to his feet, he pulled the jacket off of his chair and draped it over his arm. Glancing toward Edward once more, he said authoritatively, "I expect you to take it easy, Fullmetal. You need to be rested up and ready to go in a few weeks. We're counting on you."

"Right," the youth replied, a look of determination spreading across his features.

Feeling his face soften upon seeing the Edward he knows, Roy raised a hand as a sign of farewell and replied, "Alright. I'll see you later." After the youth returned the gesture, he turned on his heels and brushed past the nurse and headed out into the hallway. As he made his way toward the hospital's entrance, he silently vowed that he would do whatever possible to make sure the boy never had to worry about something like that ever again.

* * *

"C'mon Al," Edward exclaimed as he raised his metal hand and balled it into a fist, "Let's blow this pop stand! We've got a train to catch."

"Right," the suit of armor replied excitedly as he raised his fist and bumped it against his brother's, no doubt ecstatic that his older sibling was feeling a lot better.

Turning to face Roy, Edward threw him a grin and a quick wave. "See ya later, Colonel Idiot," before turning on his heels and heading toward the hospital's exit, Alphonse clanking along behind him.

When he made sure they had disappeared outside the doors, Roy noted that he could still feel a small smile on his face. Rotating back to the receptionist's desk, he reached into his pocket and produced his wallet. Opening it, he pulled out a piece of paper and said, "Be sure to take it all from this account. I only want one transaction and no paper trail."

Looking down at the bank information in her hand, the woman's eyes widened before she nodded and began taking down his bank account's information.

While she worked, Roy couldn't help but look back over his shoulder and toward the door, his mind already going back to the boys, wondering and worrying about what trouble they could possibly get into next.

* * *

 **A/N:** _I know I said I was out of the country and all, but I had free time today and I reminded myself that I would do this at some point. I was able to type this out in about two hours or so as I anticipated the rain here in England! So lots of Parental!RoyEd in this chapter! Expect some Parental/Friendship!RizaAl next chapter, with the following being a bit of a group effort. I will be adding to this as I go and as I think of situations, so if there are any suggestions please let me know!_

 _Also, be on the lookout for another (I know, I know; FaS and Gravity will have first priority, though) new series of Royai one-shots titled "Expect the Unexpected," with the synopsis: After discovering they are 'expecting,' Roy and Riza work together through the ups and downs of the most difficult, and yet most rewarding, nine months of their lives._


	2. Summer Solstice

"Geez, where is everyone," Edward grumbled after he stomped into the nearly empty office. Aside from Colonel Bastard, the only other person there was Lieutenant Hawkeye.

Looking up from his paperwork, Mustang stated, "They all left early for the long weekend."

Furrowing his brows confusedly, Edward muttered, "Long weekend?"

Seemingly surprised by the boy's naivety, Mustang explained, "Today is the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. Since it falls on a Friday this year, most of the men decided to take vacation time to enjoy the festival."

"Festival," Edward asked, his eyes widening slightly, "There's a festival?"

"Yes," Lieutenant Hawkeye chimed in from her desk. When he turned toward her, she clarified, "It's over in the eastern part of the city, near the national park."

"Oh, that's cool," Edward said with a nonchalant shrug as Alphonse clanked into the room moments later.

"What's cool," Alphonse asked as he looked around the room, also noting that most of the officers were absent.

"Apparently there's a festival going on tonight and-"

"-And we would love it if you would accompany us," Hawkeye interjected, throwing the two boys and Mustang off. Apparently seeing the bewildered expression Mustang shot at her, she said, "My work is just about finished, sir. How about yours?"

He looked down at his pile of papers for a moment, then back up at her, his stare reflecting suspicion. But when she said nothing more, and he assumed that she was serious, he grinned and said, "I should be finished soon."

"Oh, we don't want to impose," Alphonse said as he raised his hands. "I'd hate it if we ruined your plans."

"You wouldn't be at all," Hawkeye said with a smile. "We were planning on asking you earlier, but we didn't get to see you until now."

"Ah," Edward began, getting ready to turn them down when he was interrupted by Alphonse.

"Oh, that would be so great," he exclaimed excitedly. "Thank you!"

"Of course," Hawkeye said with a nod. "How about we pick you up from your dorm in half an hour?"

"Sure," Edward said with a shrug. Turning to leave the office, he raised a hand in farewell and added, "We'll see you soon, then."

"Bye," Al added with a small wave before following after his brother.

* * *

After they heard the clambering of Alphonse's steps die away, Roy turned to Riza and shot her a puzzled look. "I thought we had to get these finished by the end of the night?"

Riza shrugged her shoulders and said, "If we miss the deadline by a couple of hours, administration won't care. After all, we've been on time with our paperwork the rest of this month."

Raising a brow, he said, "I guess I was just surprised. I didn't know we had plans."

"We didn't," Riza answered. "But did you see the look on Edward's face? We mentioned the word 'festival' and it lit up for a moment. He might not seem like he wants to go, but I can guarantee you he does.

"Besides, today is the longest day of the year. It might be nice stepping out of the office for a few hours to accompany them to the festival."

Understanding what she was getting at, Roy smiled and glanced back down at his papers. "Well, if you insist, milady, I will gladly oblige."

* * *

Upon hearing a knock on their dorm room door, Edward walked over to it and opened it, revealing Mustang and Hawkeye, the two soldiers dressed in civilian attire. For a moment it threw the young boy off. He couldn't think of a time where they wore anything other than their military uniforms.

They looked so… normal.

"Are you going to continue gawking or are you ready to go?" Blinking, Edward realized that he _had_ been staring, Mustang's voice having brought him back to reality.

Feeling slightly embarrassed, he tried to counter back by saying, "Well, you can't blame me because you actually look decent for once." Smirking, he added, "You finally figured out that that navy blue wasn't your color. It took you long enough."

Mustang was about to counter back when Edward looked over his shoulder at his younger brother. "Ready to go, Al?"

"Yeah," the suit of armor exclaimed as he walked up to and stood beside Edward. Raising his hand and waving it, he said, "Hi Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye. Thank you again for inviting us along!"

"Of course, Alphonse," Mustang replied with a small smile. "We're glad you appreciate it and we're happy to have you along." For a moment, Edward could have sworn that the bastard's eyes darted over to him.

Seeing this silent cue, he grumbled, "Yeah, thank you."

"Don't mention it," the Colonel said with a smirk. Looking down at his watch, his smirk vanished and his eyes widened slightly as he said, "Well, we'd better get going. We don't want to miss out on the afternoon rates."

"Cheap bastard," Edward growled under his breath as he and Alphonse closed the dorm room door behind him.

"What was that," Mustang asked over his shoulder.

"Nothing," Edward quipped back almost immediately.

As they descended the stairs, Hawkeye looked over her shoulder and asked, "Have you two been to a festival before?"

Happy with the change in topic, Edward shrugged and said, "We had a sheep festival every spring to celebrate lambing season, but it never had any rides or anything." When her eyes widened in surprise, he added, "It was hard getting all of the equipment out there. They did it once, but it was just so time-consuming and tedious that they never did it again."

"Yeah," Alphonse said sadly. "I never got to ride any of them either because I was too small." As they stepped outside and made their way over to Hawkeye's waiting car, he murmured, "And now I think I'm too big."

"Ah, well, we'll see about that," Edward said in an attempt to diffuse his younger brother's concerns. "I'm sure there are a ton of attractions there that we can all do, right," he asked as they climbed into the backseat of the car and buckled their seatbelts.

After adjusting the mirror, Mustang looked up at Edward and Alphonse's reflections and nodded. "That's right. They always have something for everyone there."

"Okay," the suit of armor answered back with newfound enthusiasm as he settled himself in his seat as Mustang started the car.

As he put it into drive, Edward saw him glance into the mirror once more, a small smile on his face.

* * *

"Whoa! Check this out, Brother," Alphonse exclaimed as he stopped in front of one of the game booths and pointed at one of the toys on display. It was small, metal clockwork kitten, whose head bobbed playfully side to side in conjunction with its gears. Looking down at the game, he sighed.

"What is it," Edward asked as he took a step forward and surveyed it.

It was a shooting game, the object being to hit the bullseye four times in order to win a prize. Leaning over the counter and resting against his elbow, the gamekeeper asked, "Wanna give it a whirl?"

"I'd love to," Alphonse said dispassionately as he raised his gloved hands, "But my fingers are too big."

Stuffing his hand into his pocket, Edward pulled out a few cenz and dropped them on the counter. Picking up the toy gun, he said, "I'll give it a try, Al," as he also gave his younger brother a thumbs up.

"Oh, thank you, Brother," Alphonse exclaimed as he eagerly clapped his hands together.

Nodding back in reply, Edward turned back to the bullseye and aimed.

One shot hit the mark directly, resulting in a cheer from Alphonse and a "nice work" from Riza. Grinning at his success, he fired another shot which missed by a few centimeters. Frowning, he tried again. And again. Both shots missed their mark.

With a frustrated sigh, he set the gun down and grumbled, "The damn game's rigged." Turning back to Alphonse and gripping his automail arm, he said, "I'm sorry, Al. It's still a bit difficult for me to aim with this arm."

"That's okay, Brother," Alphonse said, though it was clear by his voice that he was slightly disappointed.

"Here, let me try."

Turning back to the game, the two boys saw Hawkeye leaned over the counter, her elbows planted firmly against it as she took aim. Within moments four shots rang out, all of them hitting their mark. They watched, dumbfounded by both the speed and accuracy, as Riza gladly accepted the small toy.

As she rotated around to face them, Alphonse exclaimed, "Wow! That was amazing Lieutenant Hawkeye!"

Edward nodded. He had seen her in action before, but seeing her aim and hit her mark with the same accuracy she would with a real gun was incredible. "Yeah, that was great, Hawkeye!"

"Thank you boys," she said as she held out the small contraption, presenting it to Alphonse.

The suit of armor raised his hands and took a step back. "Oh, I can't take that from you, Lieutenant. You won it fair and square."

Smiling, she shook her head and said, "I won it for you, Alphonse."

"For… for me," he asked as he pointed to himself, to which she nodded in reply as she extended her arms further in offering. Taking it from her, he looked down at it as he continued to bob its head back and forth. Then his soul-fire eyes flickered up and he said, "Thank you… Thank you so much!"

Taking a step up, Roy leaned forward slightly to observe the mechanical creature. Smiling as well, he said, "That's really cool, Alphonse."

"It is," the young boy said, the smile evident in his voice as he gently prodded the toy with his gloved hand. Again, looking up at Riza, he said, "Thank you," his voice echoing with gratitude from within his armor.

"Of course, Alphonse," she said again as she reached up and patted his shoulder. "It's a lot more manageable than a real cat, right," she added as they continued to walk.

"Definitely," he said as he began to admire it again. "I can even store it in my armor when we travel. It'll be really nice to have when we stay in hotels too since they don't allow cats either."

"Hey, what's this," Edward asked as he stopped outside of what appeared to be a large, metal house.

Stepping forward, Roy glanced at the chart outside of him and said, "It looks like a house of mirrors." Glancing over at the youth, he saw that Edward was, for whatever reason, was eyeing it curiously, a small glimmer in his eye. "Let's go in," he offered as he stepped over to the door and held it open, inviting the other three inside.

Walking in first, Edward jogged to the end of the hallway and stopped in front of the mirrors, seeing that it greatly exaggerated his arms, making them look twice as long as they actually were.

"Woah, your head looks huge, Colonel," Alphonse proclaimed as he looked over toward the mirror Roy was standing in front of. "These mirrors are crazy!"

Edward snorted. "What're you talking about, Al. That mirror isn't altered. The Colonel's head always looks like that!"

"Hey now," Roy countered. "That can be taken as a compliment; after all, I do have a lot of knowledge-"

"-Or a large ego," Riza said, cutting him off. When he turned toward her, he saw that she was still looking at her mirror and turning slightly to change the its effects on her hips. Seeing him watching her out of the corner of her eye, she raised her eyes to look at him, a small joking smile on her face.

"Or both," Edward chimed in before turning back to his mirror and spreading his mouth open with his fingers, sticking his tongue out at the mirror and crouching slightly so that it could reflect his face differently.

Roy feigned annoyance with a small scoff and eye roll, but did not counter back. Strangely, the snarky comments from the boy were becoming less and less frequent during the night, being replaced instead by fun observations or chatter. This entire night had been incredibly refreshing, reflecting all of them in a different light outside the stuffy walls of Eastern Command.

It was just… nice seeing the boys acting so excited and child-like for once...

"Let's check out the Ferris wheel next," Riza suggested, breaking through his thoughts.

"That sounds good," Roy said as he turned away from his mirror to follow them outside and toward the large, circular contraption.

Seeing that there was a long line, they opted to grab a few snacks, consisting of roasted nuts and cotton candy while they waited. When it had gotten slightly smaller, they went and stood in line to wait for their cart.

They had gotten in line at the right time because the sun had just begun to set. Sitting down next to Riza, Roy casually put arm around the back of her seat and looked on as Edward and Alphonse climbed on, Alphonse's weight dipping the cart toward the two boys.

They all held their breath as the ride started, creaking and moaning as they slowly began their ascent. But after realizing that it was just the way the ride functioned, they all relaxed and leaned back in their seats.

For a few moments, they all said nothing, simply enjoying the warm, summer night air, taking in the sights and sounds of the small makeshift park. Then, however, Edward cleared his throat, breaking the silence. Smiling sheepishly, he awkwardly said, "I just wanted to… to thank you guys for taking Al and me out tonight, even though I know you had a lot of paperwork to do." Casting his glance down toward his feet, he said, "We've never really done anything quite like this before. We had always read about it in books or heard it get talked about, but we've never been to one. It was," he looked back up at them again, "It was really nice of you two, so thank you."

"Well, we're glad that you two were able to come. We really enjoyed ourselves tonight as well," Riza said in reply. "And we're both so happy that we could share such an experience with you."

Roy nodded, "And it was nice taking a break from the office and all of the military regulations for a while."

The moment he said that, he knew he had made a terrible mistake. Edward raised his eyebrows at the reponse and then smirked as he looked from Riza back to Roy, "Oh, I can tell." Raising his hand up and nudging Al with his elbow to prompt him to follow, he covered his eyes and said, "Do you want us to turn away for a while, maybe cover our ears?"

Feeling his face redden slightly as the suit of armor giggled and covered his eyes as well, Roy quickly drew his arm back from around Riza and shot back with, "Or I could always flick you out of this carriage. You are small enough after all."

His eyes widening at the comment, Edward jumped up and yelled, "What did you say about my height?!"

"Brother, you're going to tip the cart," Alphonse cried as he restrained his brother.

Ignoring Riza's protests to his behavior as well, Roy threw his head back and laughed. It seemed that, no matter what, their dysfunctional mishmashed… dare he say 'family,' aesthetic would always include this.

And that, he decided, was something he would never mind.

* * *

 **A/N:** _Happy Summer Solstice, aka the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere (sorry southern hemisphere ;_;)._

 _I hope that you don't mind the change in order of the chapters. I just wanted this one to fit the day. Expect the next one to be titled "Dandelions," and it will feature Riza and Al and what they were doing while Edward and Roy were talking in the first chapter._

 _Also, if anyone was interested in my new Royai one-shot series, I have published it._

 _And wow! Thank you for the favorites, follows, and reviews so far! I'm flattered that so many of you like it so far!_


	3. Dandelions

**A/N:** _Please note that this takes place the same time as Chapter 1, when Edward is in the hospital! Not all one-shots will be connected like this, however._

* * *

With a heavy sigh the suit of armor tossed another ruined dandelion over his shoulder. At this stage, he considered just giving up. What was the point?

Looking down at his massive gloved hands, he clenched and unclenched his artificial fists, testing his dexterity. He thought he had grown used to these hands, having had them for one and a half years now. And yet it still seemed that he couldn't complete the most delicate of tasks.

But then again, picking flowers hadn't been something he had ever really put a lot of thought into… That is, until now.

During their last mission Edward had gotten hurt, resulting in him being admitted to the Central Military Hospital again. Alphonse couldn't help but worry about his older brother, even though Edward said that he was fine. All he wanted to do was just-

"Alphonse?"

The suit of armor jumped at the sudden voice. Whirling around, he saw Second Lieutenant Hawkeye standing at his side. "O-oh! Lieutenant Hawkeye… I didn't see you there."

"Is everything alright," she asked, raising her brows with concern.

"Yes," Alphonse answered as his soul-fire eyes wandered over to the pile of ruined flowers just beyond her.

The Lieutenant followed his gaze before her eyes too set themselves on the carnage. "Are you sure," she asked as she turned back to face him.

"Yeah," Alphonse began again, only to stop. Her look suggested that she was unconvinced by his feeble attempt to prove that he was okay.

But rather than saying that, she instead sat down next to him on the grass. Reaching out and grasping the bottom of the stem of the nearest dandelion, she pulled it out of the ground as she said, "Here, let me help you."

"Oh! That's alright," Alphonse replied as he waved his hands back and forth. "There's no need to… I'm sure you're busy!"

Setting the flower down atop the small pile of ones that were not ruined by his hands, the Lieutenant smiled lightly and said, "Not at all, actually. The Colonel and Edward are having a private conversation right now, so I decided to walk around and give them their space." After picking up another dandelion and studying it, she turned back to the suit of armor and asked, "Are you collecting these for Edward?"

"Yeah," Alphonse replied sheepishly as he looked down at the pile next to him. "Or trying to, anyways."

"What for," she asked as she placed the second flower on the pile.

"Well," Alphonse explained, "These flowers always grew during this time of year in Resembool. When we were little we would always pick them for our mother and take them to her, and she'd make flower crowns out of them and wear them around the house." Shrugging his metal shoulders up and down and chuckling while he reminisced, Alphonse said, "Since I saw them growing here, I figured I'd collect some for him, for old time's sake. Brother doesn't like to admit it, but he's gotten homesick a few times since we left, and I thought these might cheer him up while he's in the hospital."

"Well that's very sweet of you, Alphonse," the Second Lieutenant said with a small smile. "I think they'll cheer Edward right up."

"Thank you," the suit of armor replied, a smile in his voice. "And I appreciate you helping me pick them."

"It's my pleasure," she replied as she set a small bunch down on the growing pile beside the young boy. "Will you be making flower crowns out of these ones?"

"Oh, no," Alphonse said as he shook his head. "I never learned how to make them. Edward could, but I was still too young and just never mastered it."

"Would you like to learn?"

Surprised by this, the young boy asked, "You know how to make them?"

The Second Lieutenant nodded as she took two of the flowers in her hands and began weaving the stems together. "When I was a little girl I would sometimes go out into a field near my house and pick a few flowers and make them myself. It was something my mother taught me when I was very young."

"Wow, that's really neat," Alphonse replied as he watched her nimble fingers twist and tie the two stems together.

It was an odd notion, imagining Lieutenant Hawkeye as a little girl. And even stranger thinking that she, the stern and hardened sniper that she was, was able to make something so… delicate.

Holding up the two flowers she wove together, she pointed at the knot she made and said, "See how I tied these two together? The trick is to not pull too hard, otherwise you might pull them apart or break the stems." Setting them down on her lap, she grabbed two more and held them out to Alphonse. "Here, you try now, Alphonse."

Taking the two flowers from her as gently as he could, Alphonse looked down at them and studied them for a few moments. He wasn't sure he could…

Then, two smaller hands came up and rested on the back of his, guiding them slowly. "Take this stem and wrap it around this one," Lieutenant Hawkeye said softly as she helped him loop the two flowers together. "Then, pull the end of this one and tie it around this part," she instructed as she lead his gloved fingers. "This is the part where you need to be the most careful," she added as she gripped the end of the second flower, pulling it until the knot tightened, securing the two together.

"Oh," Alphonse exclaimed as he looked down at it. "That isn't too hard!" Turning back to her, he saw that she was already holding up two more flowers.

Taking them with more confidence this time, Alphonse began to slowly and meticulously weave the stems together under her gentle and comforting guidance.

By the time he had gotten to the fifth knot on the ring they had managed to construct, he heard footsteps approaching them. Looking up, he saw the Colonel Mustang had stopped just beside Lieutenant Hawkeye, smiling down at the project they were working on.

"Ready to go, Lieutenant," he asked as he nodded in acknowledgement toward Alphonse.

"Yes, sir," Lieutenant Hawkeye replied before turning back to him. "Think you can finish the rest on your own?"

"Yes, ma'am," he replied assuredly. "Thank you for helping me," he added

"It was my pleasure, Alphonse," she said with a light smile. "Just remember to pick them as close to the root as possible to keep them intact, okay?"

"I will," the suit of armor responded, a smile in his voice. "I'll see you later!"

After another wave and farewell, Alphonse watched as the two officers departed, heading back toward Lieutenant Hawkeye's car. When they had disappeared, he looked back down at his work and began where he had left off, already formulating a way to thank the Lieutenant.

* * *

"Hey, Lieutenant Hawkeye," Havoc greeted with a wave as he leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the desk. "How were the boys?"

"As good as they could be," she admitted as she made her way over to her desk. Setting her bag atop it, she rummaged through it and began taking out the paperwork she had taken home the previous night. "Although I wish Edward will be a little less reckless this time. His brother worries about him."

"Are they off on another rousing journey already," the blond man asked, though it was clear by his tone that he wasn't surprised in the least.

With a sigh she nodded her head. "They left just as soon as Edward was discharged, though from the sounds of it they should be back within the next day or so."

"That'll be good for them then, getting their feet wet before diving back in."

Riza hummed in reply as she walked around her desk and pulled out her chair. Sliding into it, she took hold of the handle of the drawer closest to her and pulled it out. Her eyes widened in surprise upon realizing that there were a bunch of flowers set atop her books with a note sitting in the middle. As she reached down and grabbed the paper, she heard Havoc say, "Alphonse stopped in on his way back to the hospital and dropped that off for you. Said you'd know the meaning of it."

Setting the paper down on the top of her desk, she began to read the neat and tidy handwriting that belonged to Alphonse.

 _Dear Lieutenant Hawkeye,_

 _Thank you so much for teaching me how to make these! I took the one that you helped me make to Brother and he was really surprised. Even though he thought he'd look like a dork with it on, he wore it for the rest of the day anyways! The nurses were so impressed by it that I went outside and made even more to give to them as a 'thank you' for taking care of him._

 _I know it isn't much of a thank you, but I really appreciated you taking the time to show me how! You're so patient and kind, just like our mother always was! I hope that you and the team have a wonderful day. We will see you in a few days!_

 _Sincerely, Alphonse Elric_

Smiling to herself, Riza gently took the small crown of flowers from her desk drawer and set it on her desk, smoothing it out and checking the boy's work. It was stitched and tied together beautifully, even better than her own. Then, taking it with both hands, she lifted it and set it atop her head, adjusting it so that it was in a position where it would be least likely to fall off. Turning to face Havoc, she asked, "How does it look?"

She was sure that the lower ranking officer was probably having a field day with the image in his head, but rather than say anything outright, he grinned and said, "Yellow suits you, Lieutenant."

"Thank you, Officer Havoc," she replied coolly as she looked down at her papers and picked up her pen. As she began to write, the door to Colonel Mustang's office opened, the man himself appearing out of it moments later. When she looked up at him, she saw a small smile touch his lips as his eyes wandered up to the crown of flowers atop her head.

Returning the smile, she nodded in acknowledgement and looked back down at her papers. She continued like that for the rest of the day, the bright yellow crown never leaving her head once; a constant reminder of the two young boys who had begun to change their lives for the better.

* * *

 **A/N:** _Wow! Thank you for all the favorites, follows, and reviews, guys! You're all amazing! I got a request to have a story when the boys are more mature (thank you,_ _ **Harish**_ _!). So expect something like that next time._

 _If anyone ever has any requests, please let me know via PM or if you are already writing a review! Again, thank you and hope you enjoyed!_


	4. Still Lit

**Time frame:** _Post-Brotherhood_

* * *

"Man, this is complicated," Edward grumbled as he leaned over the paperwork in front of him, rereading the first sentence for the fifth time. "I mean, Pinako is just giving us the house. Why do we need to jump through all of these hoops just to put our names on the deed?" When he heard the sound of papers rustling in front of him, he turned his gaze upward and focused in on General Mustang and narrowed his eyes. "I blame you for this."

"Me," Mustang asked as he raised a brow. "Why me?"

"Because you still haven't risen to Fuhrer and changed these stupid laws," Edward replied bluntly.

With a laugh, Mustang leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. "I'm working on it, Edward, but it takes time to rise to the top."

With a scoff, Edward jestingly rolled his eyes and said, "I hope you know that this means you still won't get your 520 cenz back anytime soon."

"And I hope you know that you're incurring interest the longer it takes," Mustang challenged with a smirk.

Just as Edward opened his mouth in rebuttal, Hawkeye cleared her throat as she plucked the papers from Mustang's hands and held them between her own. "Let's focus on the task at hand, _boys_."

Upon being referred to as a 'boy,' Mustang defensively said, "You do realize he's instigating me-"

"And I'm putting an end to it," she replied matter-of-factly as she raised a brow in his direction.

When she set the papers down on the table and picked up her pen, Edward took the opportunity to shoot the General a victorious grin, to which he replied by glaring at the younger man.

"Sir," Hawkeye warned without looking up from the papers, "Please stop making faces at Edward. I thought you had passed this stage years ago."

Chuckling, Edward folded his arms on the table and leaned forward, watching as her pen hovered above the lines she was reading as she skimmed the page. When she had gotten toward the middle, he made a face and said, "See? That's the part I don't get."

Hawkeye furrowed her brows and nodded. "It does seem a bit poorly worded..." Looking up at him, she asked, "You said Pinako drafted this?"

Edward nodded. "Yeah, although I did help some." Shrugging his shoulders up and down, he added, "I just don't get any of it and Granny, well, she hasn't had to deal with anything regarding homeownership in years since she's owned it for a while now."

Hawkeye nodded again as she moved the papers she had piled by her side back into her field of vision. After comparing them side-by-side for a minute, she smiled lightly and looked back up at Edward. "If she rephrases this line here, then the document can be validated."

His eyes widening at the mention of an easy fix, Edward looked back up at her and asked, "That's it?" When she shook her head up and down again, he grinned widely at her. "That's great! Now we won't have to have a lawyer involved or anything." Still beaming, he added, "Thank you."

"It's no problem at all, Edward," Hawkeye replied as she straightened the papers and set them off to the side. "We're just happy to help, especially if that means cutting down any unnecessary costs for you two."

"Yeah," Edward responded with a nervous chuckle. "Any little bit will help at this point."

Seemingly picking up on this, Mustang inquired, "So how does it feel knowing you'll be raising your child in _your_ home?"

"Well, when you put it that way," Edward replied, his usually confident demeanor melting away, only to be replaced by nervousness and uncertainty, "It is a bit unnerving."

"You still have time to settle into everything before he or she is born, though," Mustang pointed out as he shot the younger man a genuine smile.

"Yeah… Right," Edward replied, his voice coming out slightly higher than he intended it to be. This immediately caught the attention of the two older adults that were sitting across from him. When both of them eyed him curiously, he felt his face flush.

"Edward," Hawkeye began as she leaned forward and braced her elbows on the table, "Are you nervous?"

Edward opened his mouth to respond, but quickly shut it for fear of responding _too_ quickly.

Of course he wasn't nervous. He had been the Fullmetal Alchemist. He had helped save the entire country. He was the one that stared Truth in the face without blinking or hesitating, bringing back his brother's body in exchange for his alchemy.

He was Edward Elric and he was not…. Nervous? Feeling his insides twist uncomfortably, he began to realize that… maybe he was nervous?

"You are, aren't you," Mustang noticed as he too leaned forward.

Leaning back and away from them, Edward quickly responded, "I'm not nervous. I just a bit apprehensive is all."

Smiling lightly, Hawkeye replied, "It's okay to be nervous, Edward. A baby is a big change and a big deal."

Having heard a spiel similar to this from just about every other adult under the sun, Edward quickly jumped on the defensive and countered, "But you don't have any kids, so how would you-" Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it. Backpedaling, he was quick to correct himself. "-Ah, well, what I mean is-"

Waving it off like it was nothing, Hawkeye said, "No, you're completely right, Edward. The only children I've dealt with closely are Elicia and the occasional child that comes in with their parents to Central Command."

"You're forgetting two," the General interjected, causing them both to look at him quizzically. When he knew he had their attention, he nodded in Edward's direction. "There's one right there."

"Me," Edward asked as he placed a hand on his chest.

"Well sure," Mustang said with a shrug. "We dealt with you and Alphonse directly when you were twelve and eleven up until you both turned sixteen and fifteen, respectively."

Shooting him a dubious glare, Edward replied, "I don't think that qualifies you to have 'looked after children' because we were far from being kids."

"How so," Mustang said in rebuttal as he crossed his arms. "You both came into our care when you were legally children and left our care when you were practically grown."

"I hardly consider that to be 'in your care,' Mustang," Edward noted, "Because I don't think going on suicide missions for the military counted toward that."

Raising his hands in a display of jest defense, Mustang said, "I never sent you on any suicide missions, Edward. You created those scenarios yourself."

With a huff, Edward pointed out, "Yeah? What about the train mission where General Hakuro was nearly shot to death?"

Shrugging his shoulders up and down, Mustang coolly replied as he raised his index finger, "First off, I didn't know that train would be ambushed and second," he raised his middle finger in unison with the first, "I never doubted you."

Just as Edward was about to counter yet again, Hawkeye cut him off. "I think what he's trying to say, Edward, is that we've watched you grow up all these years, right _Roy_?"

When the man in question heard his name and caught her glare, he quickly straightened up and said, "Yes, you're exactly right." His expression turning serious, he then added, "While we may not be parents by any means, what I was trying to get as was that we, in a sense, have dealt with the ups and downs of 'parenting,' though I use the term loosely."

"Yeah, incredibly loosely," Edward teased. "Seeing that you let us roam the streets at night well after our bedtime."

"Yes, 'loosely,'" Mustang agreed. "I didn't say I was your father."

"Damn," Edward replied with a false sigh, "Then who's going to be the little one's grandpa?"

Narrowing his eyes, Mustang growled through clenched teeth, "There doesn't necessarily need to be a grandpa. Me being a godfather is more than enough."

Now it was Edward's turn to shrug his shoulders up and down apathetically. "I don't know… I really like the sound of 'Grandpa Roy' and 'Aunt Riza.'"

Blinking once, twice, the General began to counter by asking why Hawkeye was an 'aunt,' though the sideways glance she offered him caused him to change gears. "I'm hardly the age to be considered a 'grandpa,' seeing that I'm only thirty-four-"

"I don't know," Edward interjected teasingly, "I heard your bones creak the minute you sat down, 'Grandpa Roy.'" He watched amusedly as the General's nostrils flared for a moment, though he was quick to recover.

Seizing this opportunity, Hawkeye quickly gathered the papers in front of her and tapped them on the table to neaten the pile. "Well, we should really start heading out. We need to be at the station in less than an hour." Pushing her chair out from the kitchen table, she got to her feet, her glance inviting Mustang to do the same.

As the older man rose to his feet as well, Edward changed his mind set and said, "Again, I honestly do appreciate you two coming out here to help us sort everything out."

"Of course, Edward," Hawkeye replied with a smile. "I'll be sure to get these papers in first thing tomorrow morning. Hopefully everything will be squared away by the end of the week."

Beaming at this, Edward responded, "That's great to hear. Thank you again." Looking over toward Roy, he then said, "Later, _Gramps_ ," as he leaned back in his chair and grinned devilishly.

But rather than take the bait, the General smiled widely and said, "We'll see you in a couple of weeks, _son_. Now, the godparents should be here a couple of hours before the shower, right?"

Slightly suspicious that the playful banter was dropped just like that, Edward slowly said, "Yeah, that's right. It starts at two, so around eleven, eleven-thirty is fine."

"Alright," Mustang replied with a slight wave as they headed toward the kitchen door, "We'll see you around eleven that day."

"Sounds good," Edward responded as he returned the wave, "See the two of you then."

After they shared another quick farewell, Edward watched as they walked out of the house and closed the door behind them. Watching after them for a few moments, he smiled knowingly and folded his arms across his chest, knowing damn well what the General was playing at.

* * *

"You two really love your banter, don't you," Riza asked in a low hum as they began to make their way down the road to the car they had loaned for the trip.

Moving his shoulders up and down, Roy replied, "Hey, we have to keep the tradition alive somehow."

"By instigating him?" When he turned toward her, however, she saw that she has a small smile on her face.

"Of course," he replied cheerfully. "How else will I know if he still has that fire inside of him?"

"So," she asked as he opened the door for her and invited her to sit, "Is the fire still there?"

As she slid into the vehicle, he nodded and smiled, "Oh, without a doubt."

Returning the smile, she replied, "Good. I'm glad to hear that."

With a final affirming nod, Roy closed her door and began to make his way toward his side of the vehicle, but stopped halfway to his destination to look back at the Rockbell, well soon to be 'Elric,' residence.

The boy had certainly grown and changed over the years, and yet he still possessed the same spunk he had the moment he arrived in Central to take the State Alchemist Exam. As long as he kept that fire lit in his heart, and that same Edward-like spring in his step, he would be able to conquer mountains, tame seas, and maybe, just maybe, even be able to tackle parenting... Shaking his head and chuckling to himself at the comparisons, he made his way over to the driver's side of the car and climbed in.

After slamming the door shut and turning the key in the ignition, he looked over at Riza, who was giving him a knowing look.

And if, for whatever reason, the challenge seemed too tough to shoulder for the young man and his wife, he would at the very least know that he would always have two other people to fall back on for support.

* * *

 **A/N:** _So a little bit of post-Brotherhood Edward, Roy, and Riza interaction. I hope I did their future selves justice! I've slowly been getting more and more ideas (surprisingly, a lot of Riza/Ed ideas and Roy/Al ideas), but if anyone has any ideas or suggestions, please let me know!_

 _Thank you for all of the follows, favorites, and reviews so far! You guys are wonderful! I've slowly been getting back into the swing of answering reviews too, but for those that haven't received one yet, I just want to say 'thank you' for the support! It truly means a lot!_


	5. A Feline Good Time

**A/N:** _Alright, I took a few liberties with this fic as well and added a restaurant concept that is still fairly new in our time. Buuuuut, I figured it was cute, so it's here. Enjoy!_

* * *

Apparently he had gotten the call around one-thirty in the morning. Of course, however, Roy Mustang chose to sleep through the call, never even hearing the ring to begin with.

So when he did finally awaken at the time designated by his alarm clock, he was surprised to hear his phone ringing almost immediately following his turning it off. Stumbling over to it and clumsily picking up the receiver, he mumbled a half-asleep, "Hello," into it.

"Sir?"

Upon hearing the Lieutenant's voice, Roy immediately perked up. "Oh, Lieutenant. I wasn't expecting a call from you this early. To what do I owe you the pleasure?"

"I apologize for the early call, sir, but I received a panicked phone call around two in the morning last night from Alphonse-"

His thoughts immediately turning to the younger boy's older brother, Roy groaned, "What did Fullmetal do this time?"

"Nothing, sir," Riza replied in a tone that urged him to remain quiet until she was finished, "He called because Edward was incredibly under the weather last night."

"Fullmetal is sick," Roy repeated back to her, which she responded to with a low hum in reply.

"Yes. Alphonse called me and I headed over to their dorm immediately. I drove them to the hospital and-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Roy cut her off again. "You took him to the _hospital_?"

"Yes, sir," she replied matter-of-factly. "Anyways, they found that he was severely dehydrated and they were able to give him some fluids to help alleviate that. From what they determined, it's just a nasty stomach bug. Around six or so this morning they allowed me to bring him home."

With a small sigh, Roy said, "Well, that's good to hear. Thank you for the update, Lieutenant."

"Of course, sir," she replied. The tone of her reply, however, suggested that there was more that she wanted to say.

"Is there anything else?"

"Actually, sir," she began, "I have them both here at my apartment, and, as you know, my bedroom is quite small.

"It's… difficult maneuvering around Alphonse in that space, especially since he's so worried about Edward. I was hoping that, since I've already been exposed, you might consider taking him somewhere to help get his mind off of things.."

Roy raised his brows at her additional commentary. The young boy must really be fretting if she felt he needed to step away from the situation for a while. "Of course, Lieutenant," Roy replied coolly into the line. "I think I know just the place."

* * *

Raising his fist, Roy rapped on Riza's door a few times and paused, straining to listen to the activity inside. Within a few moments, he heard Riza's voice instructing someone to do something. A beat later, he heard the all-too-familiar sound of heavy metal boots pounding against the floor as Alphonse strode over to the door.

He could understand now what the Lieutenant meant. As much as they admired the young boy, he had to agree that he was not exactly… 'built' to be dwelling in an apartment as unsound as the one Riza was living in.

When the door opened, a seven-foot-tall suit of armor peered down at Roy. Upon recognizing him, Alphonse quipped, "Oh! Hello Colonel."

"Hello Alphonse," Roy replied with a warm smile. "How are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm fine," the young boy replied as he made a move to look nervously over his shoulder. "I'm really…" He trailed off, however, when they both heard the sound of retching coming from the bedroom. Abandoning his conversation, the boy whirled around and bound through the apartment, shaking the floor as he went.

Roy closed the door and followed after him just as Riza exited the bedroom with a small pail. Blocking their way, she moved the handle of the pail from one hand to the other, closing the door with her free one.

"Is Brother okay," Alphonse asked anxiously as he came to a stop in front of her.

Casting him a small smile, Riza replied, "He's doing alright, Alphonse. He's still a little sick, but from what I can tell it's becoming less and less so as the day goes on."

"Oh, okay," the boy replied gloomily.

Looking past the boy for a moment, Roy managed to catch Riza's tired, sleepless eyes as they wandered over to the suit of armor before returning back to gaze at him. Getting the signal, Roy reached up and put a hand on Alphonse's shoulder, causing the young boy to turn toward him. "Hey Alphonse, what do you say we go and run a few errands. We can pick up something for Full-er, Edward while we're out."

"Ah, I'd hate to be a burden, though," the suit of armor replied reluctantly. "I mean, I don't want to slow you down or anything…"

"Nonsense," Roy replied with a smile. "You wouldn't be slowing me down at all. In fact, I could really use the help if you're up to it."

"Oh… Okay," Alphonse responded as he looked up and past Riza at the closed bedroom door. "I guess just staying here and worrying isn't going to do any good, I suppose."

"It'll help get your mind off of things for a while," Roy reassured him as he patted the boy's metal shoulder. Then, pulling his pocket watch out, he peered down at it and muttered, "And it looks like the first place I intend to go should be opening soon."

"Alright," the boy replied. "But first, if you don't mind, I'd like to say goodbye to Brother."

"Of course," Roy said as Riza stepped away from the door, allowing the boy access to his brother's temporary accommodations.

After he disappeared inside, the two adults took a few steps away from the door to give the boys their privacy. "Thank you again for letting him run around with you," Riza murmured. "He's been worried about him all night, and I think it'll do him some good getting out."

"It's no problem," Roy said as he shrugged his shoulders up and down. "I'm happy to help."

Smiling lightly, she asked, "Are you taking him to that place I'm thinking of?" When Roy nodded in reply, she added, "It'll be perfect for him."

Grinning, Roy said, "Definitely. I think he'll really enjoy it," just as the suit of armor reemerged from the room. Turning his focus back to the young boy, Roy asked, "All ready to go?"

When Alphonse nodded in reply, Roy dipped his head and said, "Alright then. We'll be back in a couple of hours with a few provisions," he added as he led the boy toward the door.

When they stepped into the hallway, Riza leaned against the doorframe and smiled. "You two have a good day, okay? I'll hold down the fort for now, but if something comes up I'll get in contact with you."

"Okay," Alphonse replied with a tinge of relief in his words. "Thank you, Lieutenant Hawkeye."

"It's no problem, Alphonse. You two have fun," she answered as she waved them off.

Gesturing for Alphonse to follow, Roy took one last look at his pocket watch, confirming that they were, indeed, right on schedule.

* * *

"I hope you don't mind, Alphonse, but I figured we could stop somewhere a little more fun before we start those errands," Roy said, breaking through the small bout of silence that had stretched between them.

Taking a few moments to register it due to his otherwise occupied thoughts; the boy turned away from the window and replied, "Of course, Colonel! I'll go anywhere you need me to."

Smiling, Roy responded, "This is just for you, Alphonse," as he pulled into a parking spot on the street and put his car in park. Turning off the engine, he pointed to the café across the street from them. "I figured this would help you feel better."

Looking out the window curiously, a gasp escaped the suit of armor a few moments later. "I've heard of such a place, but I've never seen one before! I didn't know they had gotten one in Central."

Chuckling as he pushed the driver side door open, Roy said, "I didn't know either until the Lieutenant and I drove past it the other day. Come on, I think they're just opening up."

By the time he had gotten out of the car, Alphonse was already halfway across the street. When the youth stopped in front of the door to marvel at the sign that hung above it, Roy grabbed the door handle and opened it for the boy. Eagerly ducking in, the boy was almost instantly confronted by an orange tabby cat that had jumped up on a ledge near the door. Purring incessantly, it looked up at Alphonse and cocked its head, silently begging to be scratched.

Reaching up, Alphonse delicately petted its head, to which it responded by leaning into his touch, the purring increasing in volume tenfold.

Inching past the boy, Roy made his way over to a table nearest the door and was too approached by a cat; a gray and white one to be exactly. Reaching out, he allowed it to sniff him before it began to rub itself against his hand.

Hearing a metallic, echoing giggle, Roy looked up in time to see that a few more cats had wandered over to the boy, mewing and purring as they begged for his attention.

Looking up and noticing that Roy had already sat down, Alphonse apologized to the cats as he carefully stepped around them and walked over to the table. Upon pulling out the chair and sitting down, he was again greeted by two cats that had kept their interest in him; one jumping up onto his lap and the other leaping up onto the table. Raising both of his hands, Alphonse began to pet both of them, which elicited another boyish laugh from him.

"Would you two like anything to eat," a young woman wearing an apron asked as she wandered over to them.

"Oh," Alphonse chuckled as one of the cats began to rub against his glove, "None for me. I… I ate already."

The woman eyed him curiously for a moment, but then shrugged it off and turned to Roy, who was still petting the grey and white cat, which had migrated to his lap. "I'll just have a bagel with cream cheese and a black coffee," Roy replied.

The waitress nodded and flashed the two of them a quick smile before turning on her heels and heading back toward the kitchen.

"I wonder where they get all of the cats from," Alphonse mused as he scratched the cat on his lap behind the ear, the other one having jumped off the table to follow after the woman.

"I heard," Roy began as the boy looked up at him, "That they're all adoptable cats taken from the local animal shelter. The shop sponsors and houses them while 'putting them on display' for patrons and possible adopters."

"Wow," Alphonse exclaimed, "That's so wonderful of them and such a neat idea. Maybe I'll get the chance to adopt one of them myself after we get our bodies back..."

Curiosity getting the best of him, Roy asked, "Have you ever had pets, Alphonse?" Honestly, he did not know much about the boys' home life before joining the military. Hell, he was pretty sure he knew even less about Alphonse after thinking about it for a few moments.

"No," the boy replied with a touch of sadness. "Our mother was allergic, and even though she let us bring stray kittens into our home whenever we found them, they would always make her really sick." His voice growing quieter, he added, "She even encouraged us to keep doing it just months before she was gone, because they would always make us smile…"

"Well," a voice cut in, prompting them to look up at the waitress as she walked up to the table, "You are always welcome in here, young man. Even if the tables are full, just come up to the counter and tell them that 'Marcy' said you could play with the cats in the back."

"Really? You mean it," Alphonse squealed excitedly. When the woman nodded in reply, he continued, "Oh, thank you. Thank you! I would love to do that whenever Brother and I are in town."

"Of course, dear," she replied with a warm smile and a wink as she set the coffee and bagel down in front of Roy. Turning to him, she added, "The tab's all set, sir. You two take care now."

"Oh, thank you," Roy replied in surprise as she waved if off and made her way back to the back of the restaurant.

Watching after her for a few moments before turning back to Roy, Alphonse said, "That was really nice of her. This place is wonderful!"

"It is," Roy responded as he turned back to the boy, "Isn't it?"

"Thank you so much for bringing me here. I can't wait to tell Brother all about it."

"Anytime, Alphonse. You're welcome to invite any of the men along with you as well. I'm sure they would love to come by here sometime," Roy said with a small smile. "I know I definitely would."

"I'll definitely keep that in mind," Alphonse replied excitedly as he looked down and began to scratch the kitten on his lap behind its ears. "Thank you…"

* * *

It was nearly quarter past five by the time the two of them finished their chores for the day. Dragging up plastic bags of homemade chicken noodle soup from the local deli and an assortment of alchemy magazines and books for Edward, the pair finally made it back to Riza's apartment, Alphonse still on Cloud 9 from the day's earliest event.

Discovering that the door was open, the two of them quietly snuck in to find that the apartment was fairly quiet. A bit concerned, they stepped lightly over to the bedroom door, with Roy giving it a gentle knock. Hearing a muffled "come in," Roy slowly opened the door in time to see I disheveled Riza look up from the chair she was seated in, her chin resting on her hands. Shooting them both a tired smile, she murmured, "Welcome back," just as a light groan escaped the boy lying in the bed in front of her.

Opening his eyes slowly, Edward looked up to see Alphonse and Roy staring back. After blinking a few times, he muttered, "Hey Alphonse."

"Hi Brother," the suit of armor greeted as he ducked into the room. "How are you feeling?"

"Mmm… A little better," his older brother rumbled as he stretched.

"That's so good to hear," Alphonse said as he knelt down next to the bed, placing the plastic bag full of books and magazines next to his brother. "The Colonel and I went out and bought a couple of things that will make you feel better."

"Oh yeah," Edward asked groggily as his eyes wandered between his younger brother and Roy.

"Yeah," Alphonse chirped. "But before we got these things, we stopped at this amazing café."

The corners of his lips twitching upward, Edward muttered, "That's great, Al. Wanna tell me all about it?"

"Sure," his brother exclaimed excitedly.

Taking his as his cue to leave, Roy stepped out of the room as the suit of armor began to animatedly chatter, followed a few moments later by Riza. After closing the door behind her, she leaned against the wall and grinned lightly at him, pushing a strand of tangled hair from her face. No doubt noticing that Roy was eyeing the dark circles under her eyes and her unkempt hair, she murmured, "I look as bad as I feel, don't I?"

"You don't look bad, just tired is all," Roy replied.

"Nice dodge," she muttered as she folded her arms and raised a brow.

Reaching up and placing a hand on her forehead, Roy noticed that it was exceptionally warm. "Here," the offered as he took one of her hands and guided her toward the kitchen table. After inviting her to sit down, he grinned and said, "You, Lieutenant, are excused from your duty. And now," he said as he picked up a carton of noodle soup, he added, "It's your turn to be taken care of."

* * *

 **A/N:** _I'm on a bit of a writing spree today…_

 _I hope you all enjoyed this bit of Parental!RoyAl with a hint of Royai. I'm thinking about possibly making the next chapter Parental!RizaEd, going into detail of her taking care of him while those two were gone._

 _Thank you all so much for the reviews, favorites, and follows! I'm so glad you're enjoying this, because I enjoy writing them!_


	6. Sick Day Serenade

_Riiiiiiiing!_

Riza's eyes flew open and she gasped as the sudden noise woke her. Lying on her back for a moment, she tried to determine if maybe it had been, in fact, a dream…

 _Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!_

The phone's second chime confirmed that it wasn't. With a sigh, she rolled over and grabbed her alarm clock, squinting at its face. It was two in the morning. Who could possibly…-

 _Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!_ The telephone's third, desperate ring caused her to abandon the thought entirely as she pushed the covers off of herself and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Getting up, she hurried over to it before its fourth and final ring.

"Hello," she murmured groggily into the line. "First Lieutenant Riza-"

"L-lieutenant Hawkeye," a metallic voice stammered into the line.

Almost immediately the haziness she felt dissipated upon recognizing Alphonse's voice. "Alphonse? Is something-"

"I'm so sorry to call you at this hour," the boy apologized, cutting her off in his fit of desperation. "I tried calling the Colonel but he wasn't answering and I-I didn't know what to do."

Growing concerned, Riza said, "Alphonse, please tell me what's wrong."

"It's Brother," the young boy practically cried into the phone. "He wasn't really feeling great earlier but brushed it off like it was nothing. But-but then he started getting sick and he collapsed. He isn't really responding and I don't know what to do!"

"Alphonse, just hold on," Riza assured the young boy as she grabbed her keys from the table in her foyer. "I'm heading over there right now."

"Okay," he squeaked before she hung up the line.

* * *

Feeling her eyelids grow heavy, Riza blinked hardly a few times, trying to push away the sleep that had been pushing her for hours now. Glancing down at the boy that had borrowed her bed, she knitted her eyebrows together with concern. She thought he had looked better earlier, but now she wasn't so sure… A thick layer of sweat had coated his brow, his breaths coming quick and forced as he gulped for air in his sleep. Frowning deeply, she reached out and placed her hand on his forehead and held it there for a few moments. He was definitely still running a fever, but it seemed as if he had cooled off slightly…

A low moan drew her back out of her mind. Glancing down at him, she saw him make a great effort to open his eyes. Blinking a few times, he glanced up at her and weakly muttered, "Mom..." as he scrunched his face confusedly, his eyes going in and out of focus as he tried to identify her.

Feeling her face soften, she slowly shook her head side to side. "It's Lieutenant Hawkeye, Edward, and I'm so sorry to have woken you."

He took a few moments to process the information before moving his head up and down. "Oh," he mumbled as he kicked the covers off of himself.

When he made a move to sit up, she gently put a hand on his shoulder to keep him lying down. "Edward," she said slowly, "You shouldn't be up and moving around in your condition."

"S'okay," he muttered as he made a move again, though he was far too weak to protest the gentle pressure she had applied to his shoulder anymore. "You don't have to… Have to take care of me. I can do it m'self."

"Edward," she chided him softly. "You're bedridden. Now is not the time to argue."

He languidly rolled his head side to side in defiance. "'Ve done it before… Can do it again…"

"Absolutely not," she said definitively, a hint of authority in her voice. "I'm not letting you go and take care of yourself alone. You may have done it before, but things are different now. We're here to help you, Edward, and that means we'll help you when you need someone to lean on."

"But," he began to protest, only to have her shake her head dismissively as she gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. After a few moments he most likely realized that she would not relent, and they both knew that he was far too weak to make it back to his dorm if he tried. Instead, he sighed and closed his eyes and muttered a small, "Okay…"

Satisfied that he was finally cooperating, Riza grabbed the empty glass from the bedside table and quietly got to her feet. Opening the door to her bedroom, she slipped out and padded over to her kitchen sink. As she turned on the faucet, a quiet song came on the radio often used for background noise that she had accidentally left on. Recognizing it, she softly began to hum its tune as she placed the glass under the stream of water. When she had nearly filled it to the top, she turned off the faucet, reinserted its straw, and turned the radio's dial down, muting the music it was emitting.

Quietly heading back to her bedroom, Riza stopped humming the moment she stepped across the threshold, only to find a pair of golden eyes watching her. Smiling lightly, she took her seat next to the bed once more and offered Edward the glass.

Pushing himself upward and leaning back against the headboard, the youth took the glass from her, his eyes still watching her curiously. After he had taken a drink, he swallowed and quietly asked, "What was that song you were singing?"

"Oh, that," she replied, "It's called 'Moonlight Bay.'"*

"I thought I recognized it," he exhaled. "We used to hear it on our radio all the time when we were kids. My mom used to turn it up and dance around when a song like that came on." The corners of his lips twitched upward at the memory, his tired eyes staring forward as it played through his mind. "And at night… she'd hum whatever was playing when we began to fall asleep." Blinking the memories away, he then cast his weary glance back up at her and muttered, "You can turn it back on… if you want."

"Are you sure it won't keep you up," Riza asked as the eyed the boy, who then languidly shook his head side to side as he settled back onto the bed.

"No…" he murmured as he closed his eyes and sighed, "It'll be… fine."

She watched him for a minute or so, watching as his breathing began to slow, a look of peace spreading across his features as he finally began to drift to sleep. Getting up as slowly as she could, she tiptoed into the kitchen and turned the radio back on; setting it to a volume that made it the perfect background music.

After gathering her work items from the floor next to her chair, she snuck back into her living room and took a seat on the couch, resuming her light humming as she began to look over the paperwork she had brought home the previous night. When about fifteen minutes had passed, she heard a small noise. Furrowing her brows, she moved her pile of paperwork to set back down on the couch and headed back toward her bedroom.

Hearing the noise again and realizing that it was Edward, she breezed over to her bed and knelt down, seeing that the youth's face had contorted. Balling his hands, he fisted the covers of the bed as she groaned again, his dream agitating him further.

"Edward," she murmured, placing a hand on his forehead, "Are you alright?"

The boy immediately seemed to calm down, though she was unclear whether or not it was her voice or her touch. Exhaling quietly, he loosened his grip on the sheets and began to drift once more.

Realizing that she may need to remain there to monitor him longer, Riza recollected her items and brought them back into the room. Taking her seat once again beside the bed, she began to start working again, keeping tabs on the boy's movements out of her peripheral vision.

She hadn't realized that she had unconsciously begun humming again until a while later. Before she decided to stop, however, she looked up and saw that the boy had a small smile on his face, akin to the one he wore before when reminiscing.

Settling back into her seat, a small smile played across her lips as she changed her tune to match the one now playing on the radio.

* * *

"So you're really feeling better," Alphonse asked as he and Edward ascending the stairs that led to Lieutenant Hawkeye's apartment.

"Yep," the eldest Elric replied with a grin as he stretched his hands above his head, hoisting the small bundle of 'thank you' flowers he had in them up into the air as well. "I feel great, actually. Told you it'd pass."

The suit of armor sighed with relief. "I'm just glad that it passed quickly. I was worried about you."

With a wave of his free hand, Edward dismissed his brother's overly protective concerns. "Nah, it wasn't that bad. I just needed some fluids and sleep and I was good to go."

Just as Alphonse was about to reply, the two brothers made it to Hawkeye's front door. Adjusting his hold on the bouquet in his hands, Edward knocked on the door and waited. When they heard a set of footsteps approaching the door, they took a step back and waited patiently. The young woman they were expecting, however, did not answer the door. Instead, they were greeted by Colonel Mustang, who looked just as surprised as they felt.

"Oh, Colonel," Alphonse chirped as he clasped his gloved hands in front of him. "We weren't expecting you here! Is Lieutenant Hawkeye here?"

Recovering from his initial shock, the Colonel smiled and answered, "She is, but she's not feeling too well."

"Oh no," Alphonse gasped. "Is she okay?"

"For real," Edward asked as he eyed Mustang quizzically. "She's really sick?"

"Yes," Mustang replied with a nod. "She didn't come in this morning and-"

"Edward?"

Hearing Hawkeye's voice, the two boys peered around the Colonel, only to find the Lieutenant lying on the couch, a blanket pulled up to her chest. While he had noticed she looked tired the other day when he had been in her position, he couldn't help but notice how much worse she looked today. The dark circles under her eyes seemed to have grown and become darker still. And her face; paler than usual with a thin layer of perspiration coating it, strands of her disheveled hair clinging to her face.

And yet, despite that, she still managed a weak smile, beaming toward the boys. "I wasn't expecting you two," she murmured quietly. "What brings you here?"

"Ah." Words suddenly escaped Edward as he realized that he was the reason she was like this. He shouldn't have listened to her. He should have just gone home when he said he would. Because maybe then she wouldn't be so sick…

"I'm sorry," he blurted at last, much to everyone's surprise.

"Edward," Hawkeye replied as she pushed herself upright and leaned back against the couch, "There isn't anything to be sorry about."

"But you're sick," Edward countered as he stepped around Mustang and placed the bouquet of flowers on the table. "And it's because of me that you caught it."

Hawkeye shook her head dismissively. "Edward, this is something that's been going around Central Command for a while now. You simply caught it first." When he opened his mouth to protest again, she added, "You won't convince me that helping you recover was a wrong decision."

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Edward turned around to see Mustang standing beside him, a small grin on his face. "Trust me, Fullmetal, I don't think you'll win this fight."

With a sigh, Edward picked up the bouquet from the table and wandered over to Hawkeye. Settling down on the couch next to her, he sheepishly held them out and said, "In that case, I just want to thank you for helping me, Hawkeye."

Smiling back at him, she graciously took the flowers and said, "Thank you, Edward," as she turned and admired them. "I don't have a proper vase, but I'll find something to put them in."

"You're welcome," he replied. "I'm glad you like them."

"Of course," she responded as Mustang walked over and offered to take them. When she handed them over, they both watched as he flashed her a warm smile before inviting Alphonse into the kitchen to help him.

When she was finished watching after him and had turned back to Edward, he asked, "How long has he been here?"

Folding her arms over her chest, she gave him a weak chuckle before saying, "Ever since I called in sick this morning. He immediately came over, armed with soup and blankets." Looking back toward the kitchen, she began to watch as Mustang and Alphonse began to mix a few ingredients together for the soup. "My guess is that he's hoping to be around me long enough to catch it by mid-week."

Glad that she couldn't see his knowing smirk, he chuckled and replied, "Oh, I guess I could see that."

* * *

 **A/N** : _Here's the second part of the last chapter! Hope you all enjoyed! Maybe sometime I'll write a chapter where they all make dinner together or something under some circumstances (ooh! And maybe a rainy day chapter...). But thank you all for the suggestions and feedback! I will definitely be using your ideas (and don't be afraid to suggest anything else)_

 _*"Moonlight Bay" has zero significance here. I used it because it was written in the 1910s._

 _Thank you for all of the reviews, favorites, and follows! You guys are seriously amazing! 3 Next one I'll try some Parental!RoyEd._


	7. Flame

"Brother," Alphonse began again in warning as Edward thrust his report into his gloved hands, "I don't think you should do this."

Having already turned away, Edward glanced over his shoulder at his younger sibling and waved his marked up automail hand dismissively. "I'm just going to show him that he's not as hot as he thinks he is. That someone else can figure him out."

"But why," Al inquired as he shifted Edward's report uncomfortably in his hands.

Edward shrugged. "Why not?" When he caught Al's disapproving glare, he looked away and added, "I'm just going to have a little fun is all. It's not like I'm anywhere near that level anyways."

Before Al could argue in rebuttal, Edward threw the door to Mustang's office open. Ignoring the eyes that immediately fell on him, he marched forward and slapped his hands on the Colonel's desk, eyeing him mischievously.

"What is it, Fullmetal," his superior officer drawled as he looked up at the youth from the pile of paperwork he had been leaning over moments before."

"After two years of watching you, I think I've got you all figured out," Edward challenged with a smirk.

"What are you talking about," Mustang grumbled as he eyed the blond boy, his expression growing wary.

"Your flame alchemy, that's what," he replied matter-of-factly as he dug into his pocket and produced a piece of flint. "All you need," he said as he struck it against the back of his automail hand, beside the inscription he had drawn out before he had barged into the room, "Is a spark." He watched the Colonel's eyes widen in what he would describe as a mix of horror and shock as the small spark produced a momentous, fleeting flame, which dissipated a second later.

The instant the flame disappeared he heard a fit of coughing erupt over to his left. Turning toward it, he saw Hawkeye with her closed fist over her mouth, her eyes panicked and wide as she choked on the coffee she had accidentally inhaled. He was so distracted by it that he hadn't noticed Mustang get up from his desk and maneuver around it until the piece of flint was snatched from his grasp.

"What the hell, Mustang-" Whirling around to face Mustang, he stopped and saw that the dark-haired man was legitimately furious, his face dark and his eyes burning with rage. Grabbing Edward's automail wrist, he used the sleeve of his free arm to scrub feverishly at the array Edward had copied onto it until it was wiped away.

"'What the hell' indeed, Fullmetal," the dark-haired man bit back harshly. "What the hell possessed you to even pull a stunt this?"

Yanking his arm away, Edward countered, "What's the big deal anyways? You're just upset that someone else managed to figure you out. Isn't that—"

"Get out," Mustang suddenly growled, much to Edward's disbelief. Was he seriously so upset that he'd dismiss them just like that?

Now more confused than upset, Edward started as he took a step toward the man, "C'mon Mustang. It was just a harmless, little—"

"Out," the Colonel snapped as he raised his hand and pointed toward the door. When Edward hesitated to look back at him, he saw the flame that had sparked and come to life behind the man's eyes had grown to an inferno.

Suddenly feeling a tinge hurt by the brutal reaction, Edward tried again to reason with him, but was once again shot down as Mustang added, "You are dismissed."

Taking a step backwards, he looked around to see that the rest of the men had stopped what they were doing, their widened eyes on the dueling pair. The only one that wasn't looking, however, was Hawkeye; her eyes instead focused away from the boy and on a spot on the floor, her face as white as a ghost's.

Feeling their looks weighing more heavily on him with every passing second, Edward balled his hands into fists and shoved them into his pockets as he uttered, "Fine," before whirling around and making a hasty escape.

When they had gotten halfway down the hallway, Alphonse finally caught up with him and murmured, "Brother…" Edward did not immediately respond, prompting the younger Elric brother to slowly continue, "We didn't turn in the report."

"I know," Edward replied quickly, keeping his gaze locked on the floor in front of him as he continued to walk briskly toward the exit. "I'll just turn it in later."

* * *

After the sun had set and Edward was confident everyone had gone home for the night, he quietly slipped into Eastern Command through one of the back doors he oftentimes picked the lock of in order to gain entry. Once he had determined that everyone had gone home, he crept through the hallways,the report tucked under his arm, until he finally reached Mustang's office.

Twisting the knob and slowly pushing the door open, he was relieved to see that the office was, indeed, empty. Zeroing in on Hawkeye's desk, he tiptoed forward until he was nearly there. That's when the light suddenly turned on.

With a surprised gasp, Edward turned his head back and forth frantically, his eyes falling on none other than the man he was hoping to avoid.

Having just stepped out of his office,an ignition glove in his hand, Mustang appeared to be as surprised, if not more so, than Edward was. "Fullmetal?"

Raising his hands, the report still in one of them, Edward said, "I'm just turning in my report like I was supposed to. No need to get worked up about anything."

With a sigh, Mustang closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Alright, I may have overreacted earlier," the older man admitted.

"Yeah, you think," Edward replied, which resulted in a firm glare from Mustang. Clearing his throat, he took a few steps forward and handed the report over to him. As soon as he had a grip on it, Edward released his and began to turn away.

"I'm sorry."

Not expecting the apology, Edward whirled around to face the man, seeing that his expression, and words, were genuine.

"It was inappropriate to act in such a manner as I had earlier."

Searching Mustang's expression for any signs of malice or discontent and eventually finding nothing, Edward allowed himself to relax slightly. Shrugging his shoulders up and down, he muttered, "It's fine. Sorry to bring it up."

When he turned away again, Mustang cleared his throat, drawing Edward's attention back to him once more. "Before you go, I have to ask where you learned to do it."

"You mean with the flint and the spark?" When Mustang nodded in confirmation, Edward slowly explained, "It was just an idea I had. If you concentrate the oxygen molecules in the air enough, you can ignite them with a spark. I understand how to get the molecules into position, but maintaining it without causing a chain reaction is what stumped me. If I had actual notes or something to go by, I could—"

"There aren't any," Mustang interrupted.

"There aren't any notes," Edward asked, knitting his brows together. He had seen the Flame Alchemist pull out a small black book and jot down a few notes in it. Was he seriously suggesting that those weren't the notes he had studied and slaved over to create—

"Yes. There are no more notes on the subject of flame alchemy… because I burned them," Mustang murmured, his voice catching in his throat upon uttering the second part of that statement.

"Burned them," Edward echoed back, to which Mustang twitched. "But why?"

Keeping his eyes locked on Edward, he composed himself once more and said, "Because it's too dangerous."

"If flame alchemy is so bad, then why do you use it," Edward asked; not out of malice or to challenge. He genuinely, truly wanted to know…

Looking down at the glove in his hand, Mustang ran his thumb over it and sighed. "Because I promised someone that I would use it to better this country."

"Your teacher," Edward inquired quietly, his eyes searching the Colonel's expression.

Mustang hesitated for a moment and then, not too much to Edward's surprise, proceeded to lie through is teeth as he nodded and said, "That's right."

Deciding to nurse the Colonel's answer rather than call him out on his lie, Edward said, "And were they proud of what you've done so far?"

Exhaling slowly, Mustang shook his head and muttered, "I wouldn't know. My teacher passed away many years ago, but even from the start he did not support it."

With a frown, Edward answered, "He didn't approve of your military involvement, and yet he still gave you his notes?"

"Yes," Mustang answered with a sharp nod. "Before he passed he left them behind for me to find, but only if he had deemed me worthy." No doubt seeing Edward's confused expression, he elaborated, "He left them behind with his daughter who in turn gave them to me once she saw my resolve."

"And she let you destroy them," Edward inquired, becoming more and more curious the longer their conversation dragged on. He had never really thought about the fact that the Flame Alchemist had once been someone's protege. Sometimes it was difficult to imagine the always poised and exact Flame Alchemist had started out as a beginner, much like he and Alphonse had been.

Mustang's intense, dark eyes caught Edward's as he pulled the boy from his thoughts. "She asked me to destroy them."

"She _asked_ you to? But why would she—"

"Because she heard about the atrocities I committed in Ishval, and feared that I too would succumb to the raw and potent art that had altogether consumed her father," he answered without hesitation. "So I obliged and I burned it… All of it."

"Wow," Edward muttered as he watched Mustang turn away from him to set the paperwork on Hawkeye's desk. "That's so…"

When he couldn't find the right work, Mustang answered, "Unusual?" Though it wasn't quite what he was looking for, it seemed to fit for the time being. Seeing Edward's acceptance of the word, the Colonel elaborated, "It might seem strange, but please understand that it was something that we agreed to."

"Because it's dangerous," Edward continued for him, understanding what Mustang would be getting at next. At the mention of Ishval, he saw the man's expression change, his eyes reflecting whatever haunting thoughts crossed his mind.

Exhaling slowly, Mustang leaned back against Hawkeye's desk and muttered, "Yes. And that is why I intend to be the very last person to possess the secrets of flame alchemy." Eyeing Edward determinedly, he added, "I intend to take these secrets to the grave."

"So if anyone even delves into it and you catch wind of it, what will you do?"

The Colonel moved his shoulders up and down in an almost shrug and answered, "I'll do everything in my power to assure that it doesn't fall into the wrong hands."

"It really has that much power," Edward mused as he looked at the glove the Colonel had laid on the desk next to him. If it were powerful enough to do the damage Mustang had implied it had in Ishval, then it was truly a terrifying art.

He had seen it in action, of course, when the Colonel used it in those few, rare times he had been out in the field. And he understood that fire in and of itself was a dangerous and destructive element on its own, but when controlled its power was amplified. Still, he did not hesitate to assume that the Flame Alchemist's power was much more potent than he had let on, and that assumption only drove what he had thought next.

"So…" He continued slowly as Mustang watched him intently, "What exactly happened in Ishval?"

The Colonel's eyes widened for a moment before he controlled and concealed his shock at receiving the question, shaking his head slowly side to side once he had hidden it well enough. "That," he answered calmly, "Is a topic for another day."

Seeing that Mustang was now driving him away from the topic, Edward nodded and decided to not push the envelope further.

Recognizing Edward's resolve, Mustang murmured, "Do you understand now why I reacted the way I did earlier, Fullmetal?" When the young boy nodded again, he continued, "It wasn't because I'm trying to keep the secrets of flame alchemy to myself; rather, it was ensure that those secrets remain exactly as they are… secrets." Seeing that Edward was still following him, he asked, "So are we understood?"

"… Yeah," Edward replied as he shoved his hands in his pockets, sensing the conversation's end. "I understand."

Relaxing slightly, the Colonel nodded looked up at the clock, seeing that it was now nine. When Edward turned to look at it, the older man mumbled, "It's starting to get late."

"Right," Edward agreed, "Better get back. Al's going to wonder where I've been all this time. Told him I was just stepping out to go grab some food."

Shaking his head, the Colonel said, "I believe the deli on the corner is still open until ten. If you hurry, you'll be able to catch them before they start getting ready to close for the night." When Edward replied with a short 'thanks,' he added, "So I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Yeah," the blond responded as he shrugged his shoulders up and down. "Got nothing else better to do. We don't have any leads on the Stone, so no point in going anywhere yet."

"Well," the Colonel replied as he pushed himself off of Hawkeye's desk and folded his arms, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"I'll see you," Edward answered with a wave as he turned away. When he made it to the door and opened it, however, he stopped and looked back. "Just no more yelling, alright? You nearly burst my eardrum earlier."

No doubt seeing that they were once again on more comfortable terms, the Colonel shook his head and said, "I'll try. Just as long as you don't pull anymore stunts like that, that is. Otherwise, no promises."

With a light scoff, the boy rolled his eyes but finally acknowledged it and answered, "Alright, but I'll only hold up my end of the deal if you don't instigate me."

Shooting the young teen a dubious look, Mustang sighed and said, "Good night, Fullmetal," being sure the emphasize the words 'good night.'

Letting out a feigned sigh of annoyance, the boy at last muttered a last 'good night' before giving the Colonel one last wave and closing the door behind him.

Shoving his hands in his pockets once again, he began to stride down the hallway and toward the doors of the command center, his thoughts already beginning to swim with the information that Mustang had given him… and hadn't given him. Now wondering just what had really happened in Ishval, and what had happened to the original Flame Alchemist… and his daughter.

* * *

"Sorry about that," Roy murmured as he walked into the room and closed the door behind him, turning the lock to ensure that there would be no more unwanted visitors that evening.

The woman seated on the edge of his desk, her button up shirt now slipped back on over her shoulders, shook her head dismissively and looked over her shoulder at him. "It's alright. Although… was that Edward's voice I heard?"

Nodding as he walked toward her, he confirmed, "It was. He stopped by to sneak that report onto your desk."

"Is that so," Riza answered as she raised her brows in surprise. "I would have figured he'd have come again tomorrow or the following day."

Leaning against the desk and just behind her, Roy shook his head and said, "I thought so too, but he seemed adamant in making sure that he slipped in as quickly and quietly as possible. Probably wanted to get it done and over with so he didn't have to come in tomorrow."

"I don't blame him," she murmured in response, at which he flinched.

"I know," he answered, "Again, I acknowledged that it was too harsh."

Nodding in understanding, she turned away from him and clutched at her shirt anxiously. "It was, but at the same time I understand what you felt; I felt it too: the fear and utter dread associated in imagining him possessing these secrets." Looking down and toward the floor, she added, "I suppose it was necessary in making a point to Edward, as difficult as it may have been. He needs to understand that dabbling in the art of flame alchemy is something that is not worth pursuing."

Though she could not see it, Roy swallowed thickly and nodded in reply, knowing that the conversation was one again steering in the direction he had been avoiding from the moment she asked him to stay behind that evening. Hoping to hold it off for a few moments longer, he answered, "He understands now." When she looked over her shoulder in alarm, he soothed, "I explained it generally to him, but Ishval…"

"He's still too young," she answered, understanding what he was getting at, that those stories were still strictly theirs. When Roy nodded in silent agreement, she turned her head away again and loosened her grip on the sleeves of her shirt, allowing it to slip down her back and reveal the scars on her left shoulder and the top of the ruined array. "And yet still so very bright," she murmured. "Which is why I asked you to check again, just once more; to be sure that those secrets are truly gone. Because if he was able to figure out the basics without seeing the array, there is no telling what someone with the same drive and knowledge could accomplish with what remains."

When she released her grip on the shirt and allowed it to slide down her back and onto the desk, she added, "So please… Just once more."

Reaching out, he gently brushed his fingers across the part of the array on her right shoulder that was unscathed and began to skim the notes that remained. He drew away, however, when she uttered in addition, "And if there is anymore, I want you to destroy that as well." When he hesitated in answering and kept his hand hovering inches above her back. Sensing this hesitation, she murmured, "Alright?"

Glad that she could not see the pained expression that crossed his face, he knew too that she would make certain he followed through… truthfully. Resting his fingertips against her skin once more, he swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat as he tried to push away the memories of muffled cries and the smell of burnt flesh that had entered his mind. When he felt that they were at least buried deep enough for him to continue, he took a deep breath and finally murmured, "… Alright."

* * *

 **A/N** : _Threw in some Parental!RoyEd and a hint of Royai into the mix. Hope you all enjoyed! I'm not sure what I'll do next; maybe something with all of the men too, or at least Roy, Riza, Edward, and Al._

 _Thank you for all of the favorites, follows, and reviews! You guys are wonderful!_

 _And P.S., to the anon on Tumblr, consider this to be part of the 'Hellbound AU' for optimal angst (To those that don't know what that is, it's another story I'm working on that has a blend of traditional pairings and Parental!ness)_ ;)


	8. 520 Cenz

Digging his hand into his pocket, Edward felt around until he confirmed that the envelope was still there. Grabbing the edge of it, he pulled it out and took it between his two hands, smirking down at it. When he looked up again, he saw that the person he had been waiting to see was at last free.

Sauntering over to the new Fuhrer of Amestris, Edward freed one of his hands and tapped the man on the shoulder, causing him to flinch.

Turning around and instantly relaxing the moment he saw who it was, Roy Mustang extended his hand and took Edward's in his own, shaking it as he chuckled and said, "For a moment I thought you were another news reporter wanting a personal interview."

Finishing with one last shake, Edward released his grip and drew his hand away. "You got lucky then, I already know too damn much about you to possibly ask you anything." When Mustang rolled his eyes at the comment, Edward took the opportunity to look around the ballroom, watching as the guests milled around the dance floor and the tables with food. Turning back to the older man, Edward smirked and said, "Nice celebration you've got here. I'm impressed that nothing's been set on fire yet."

"Well," Mustang countered, "When you have an aide like Hawkeye, it's impossible for things to go wrong."

Raising his brows, Edward did another quick scan of the room and noticed for the first time that the blonde sniper was nowhere to be seen. Looking back at the Fuhrer, he said, "Eh, you're right. I'm surprised I haven't seen her much. Only at the beginning… and when you finally convinced her to dance with you."

Mustang's face flushed for a moment, but he quickly recovered by saying, "It was hard catching her to get her to relax for even a few minutes." After doing a quick sweep of the room as well, he shrugged his shoulders up and down and said, "I'm not sure where she's run off to…"

Trying his best to suppress the grin elicited by Mustang's pathetic attempt at trying to hide his emotions that was playing on his lips, Edward took the opportunity to lift the envelope in his hand and shove it toward the Fuhrer. Somewhat surprised by the small gift, Mustang slowly took it from him and muttered, "Oh. I wasn't expecting anything, Fullmetal."

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Edward countered the comment by saying, "Oh, I'm sure you were expecting this though." When Mustang opened the envelope and spilled the contents into his hand, Edward watched the confusion spread across his face before realization hit him.

His mouth hanging open slightly, Mustang gaped at the younger man for a few moments before saying, "520 cenz…"

"Yeah, what else did you think it would be?"

Looking down at the three coins in his hand, Mustang mused, "I just… I had nearly forgotten about this."

"Sure you did," Edward replied with a playful eye roll of his own, "I'd believe that only if you didn't remind me at every family function you've attended." When Mustang opened his mouth to oppose that statement, Edward continued by saying, "Don't think I didn't catch all the little hints you kept dropping, Mustang."

Realizing that Edward was teasing him by that point, he shook his head and said, "Alright, alright; you caught me. Maybe I did remind you a few times. Still, I never expected you to—"

Edward cut the Fuhrer off when he smacked the back of his outstretched hand, sending the coins flying up into the air. Then, in one fell swoop, Edward snagged the three coins midair and closed his fist around them. He watched once again as the older man's face twisted with confusion, looking at Edward for some sort of explanation.

Smirking, Edward said, "Don't you remember, _Fuhrer_? I said that I'd pay you back when you finally got to where you are now. But," he continued as he stuffed the change into his pocket, "I told you that I'd be borrowing some more after that, and repay you when this country becomes a democracy."

Seemingly remembering the conversation, he watched Mustang's face soften, the smallest hint of a smile on his lips.

"I just wanted to make sure you remembered that. You've accomplished your goal, but you haven't reached the end of the road… At least not yet. You still have a ways to go." His smirk turning into a genuine grin, Edward added, "I just wanted to make sure you keep on that path."

Exhaling softly, the Fuhrer shook his head and chuckled. "Well, between you and the Captain, it's clear that I won't be forgetting that notion. And," he continued, "As long as you keep good on your word and remind me of that path, I'll forgive any interest you accrue."

"Fair enough," Edward replied. "The less debt I find myself in, the better. After all, a wife, two kids _and_ a house to make payments on are enough…" Then when something, or rather, a certain someone, caught his eye over the Fuhrer's shoulder, Edward followed them for a few moments before the grin returned. "Although, I wouldn't have it any other way… And I think you'd agree. A wife and kids… That's the good life.

"So I'm going to rectify my previous challenge to you. I'll pay you back and get you out of your debt with me if you make this country into a democracy… And if you find yourself a damn wife." Freeing the hand that held the coins in his pocket, Edward extended it toward the man and said, "So… Think that's something you can handle?"

Realizing what he was getting at, Mustang laughed softly and took his hand in his own, and replied, "Alright… Those are conditions I can achieve."

* * *

 **A/N:** _Just a short and sweet chapter for Parental!RoyEd Week and the prompt "520 cenz." Sorry for taking so long to update! I have an idea for the next chapter and it will contain Parental!RizaEd, and will be a continuation of sorts to the previous chapter "Fire," while also addressing Edward's feelings on Nina. Don't worry, it'll all make sense when I publish it._

 _Also, would anyone not be okay with an AU one-shot for this collection? I had an idea that I'd like to write out about a younger Ed and Al with Parental!Roy and Parental!Riza. Let me know if it isn't, and I'll publish separately._

 _Thank you all for the reviews, favorites, and follows! I'm sorry for taking so long to update. Thank you for sticking with me!_


	9. Stand Together

With a content sigh, Riza Hawkeye walked over to the stand closest to her and picked up one of the first apples she saw, turning it over in her hand and admiring its bright red color. It had been a while since she was able to make it out to the local food market before it closed down for the week. Normally she was stuck in the office well past the hours it was supposedly open. But for once they were finally caught up on paperwork and she was able to head home early for the day, allowing her just enough time to find food for dinner later that night—

"Lieutenant?"

Looking up from the apple she had in her hand, Riza saw Edward Elric approaching her, a brown bag in his arms.

"Hello Edward," she greeted as the youth stopped beside her.

"Hey," he returned the greeting. "I didn't know you bought groceries here."

Riza shook her head. "I don't usually. Since it normally shuts down before I get out of work, I almost never get the chance to stop by."

He frowned. "That's a shame. Because the things they sell here are a hundred times better than the food they sell at the supermarket."

She nodded. "I agree. The food they sell here is a lot fresher than the supermarket's."

Edward shook his head. "That's not all though." When she raised her brows, he picked up one of the fruits from the stand they were standing next to and explained, "The apples here are a lot riper and have more flavor than the ones they carry in bulk." Setting it back down, he reached into his bag and dug out a head of lettuce and said, "And the vegetables they sell are crisper too and they tend to last longer in the icebox in my dorm."

Riza was impressed to say the least. Normally when she thought of the eating habits of the teen she pictured Xingese take-out or other quick meals, especially when he and his brother were often on the road.

"I guess I never made that distinction," she replied. "I'll have to try and test the taste of these against the ones I have at home."

"Yeah. I bet you'll see the difference," Edward replied. "I think it's because these are grown on a smaller scale." Shrugging as he picked up another apple and examined it, he added, "Kind of like how things were back in Resembool."

Riza smiled. "So you have a marketplace in Resembool?"

He looked at her again and grinned. "Yeah. They have it everyday, actually. It's run right out of the general store in town but pretty much anyone that produces something is welcome to set up a stand and sell their goods."

"May I help you with anything?"

The two of them looked up to see an old woman approach them from behind the stand, a small smile on her wrinkled lips.

"Oh, yeah. I'll take five apples, please." After he handed over a few cenz and muttered a 'thank you,' he grabbed one of the apples he had been inspecting before and put it in his bag.

As he began to search for another one, Riza asked, "Did you go to it often?"

Edward shrugged his shoulders. "It depended. Most of the time Granny made us food, but sometimes when we went back to the house for a few days we would swing by and pick up a few things." Reaching for another apple, he quietly added, "The stand owners would often just let us take whatever we needed without pay."

She watched as he picked up the second apple and looked down at it, his gaze growing distant. After a few moments, he chuckled softly and said, "All of them were like that. They always looked out for us after Mom died.

"Of course, Al and I would try to repay them somehow. Whether it was by doing chores for them or sneaking what money we had into their baskets after they thought we had left."

Riza's face softened. "It sounds like they really looked out for you two."

Edward chuckled. "Yeah. Looking back, I guess they did. That's the nice thing about Resembool. Everyone acts like a big family."

"Do you miss them?"

Edward looked up at her, as if surprised by her question. He pursed his lips together and mulled over it in his mind and then moved a shoulder up and down. "I guess I do sometimes. But they know that Al and I left for a good reason, so the thought makes it a bit easier."

"It seems like they really care about you," she replied with a small smile.

"I guess," he answered, though it was clear to her that he agreed. "Most of them have known us our entire lives, so I guess it makes sense that they'd keep an eye on us."

She watched as he picked up an apple and scrutinized it before shaking his head and setting it back into the bushel. When he grabbed for another one, Riza asked, "Do you miss Resembool at all?"

"Eh, I did," he answered as he rubbed the apple against his shirt. Pulling it away and examining it closer, he added, "Especially when Al and I first got here. You and the team were really welcoming though, so it made the transition easier."

Still, she could tell that there was something else on his mind. Something he wasn't telling her entirely…

"Well," he said, breaking through her thoughts, "I should get going." She saw that he had popped open his pocket watch and had been leering down at it. Snapping it closed, he said, "I left Al back at the dorm because he stills gets the occasional strange look here and there. He isn't really too keen on coming with me."

"Oh, of course, Edward," Riza replied as she looked down at the watch on her wrist, realizing that she herself was running late. "In that case, it was nice seeing you here."

"You too," he replied with a light grin. "I'll see you at headquarters on Monday then."

Returning the smile, Riza said, "I'll see you then, Edward." After he gave her a final wave, she watched as he turned on his heels and began to walk away. But just as he was about to walk out of hearing range, Riza called, "Edward!" When he turned around and eyed her curiously, she took a few steps toward him and said, "Would you and Alphonse be interested in showing me your favorite stands next week."

The corner of the boy's lip twitched upward and he moved his shoulders. "Sure, Lieutenant. We'd love to come by with you next week. I'll let Al know." She nodded her approval, and he raised his hand again and waved.

After she had returned the salutation, she watched him round the corner and disappear behind a few stands. Tightening her hold on her back, she too began to head home, already midway through formulating a plan in her mind…

* * *

"I'm back," Riza called as she pushed the door closed with her foot and began to head toward her kitchen. She smiled when Roy leaned back, peered out at her and beamed.

"Did you get the broccoli and eggs?"

"Right here," she replied as she reached into the bag and pulled out the bunch of broccoli she had purchased. Stepping around him, she maneuvered over to the sink and turned the faucet on, sticking the broccoli underneath the flow of water.

"How was the market," Roy asked as he looked up from the meat he had been browning on her stove.

"It was nice," she answered, turning the faucet off and shaking the broccoli of its excess water. "I saw Edward there."

Roy's brows rose. "Fullmetal? He was there?"

"Yes," she replied. "And I know. I admit I was just as surprised as you are."

Roy though about it for a moment and then offered, "Was he lost?"

Riza shook her head and flicked the broccoli toward him, showering him with a light sprinkle of water. "He wasn't, actually. I guess he tries to make it down once a week to pick up fresh vegetables and fruit."

Roy pursed his lips together before shaking his head and returning his attention to the meat. "I bet he finally got tired of eating out every night. It's a good lesson to learn as a kid, though."

"Actually," Riza corrected, "He does it almost all the time. He says it reminds him of Resembool."

Roy raised his brows, surprised. "Because it reminds him of Resembool?" Then, after thinking about it for a few moments, he noted, "Now that I think about it, I don't remember the last time he and Alphonse went home."

"I agree. If I had to guess, it was probably when he broke that cable in his automail two months ago."

He nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, that's probably it." Looking back at him, she saw that his expression had grown distant, losing himself to a thought that had likely crossed his mind. But without him having to say it, she knew what his thought had been.

Returning to the broccoli she had been working on, Riza predicted, "We should put in a request for them to take leave to go home for a little while."

"That's precisely what I was thinking," Roy replied with a sigh. "But my only worry is that they won't take it. Or Edward at least won't."

"True. Though I think if we offer it to him in a certain way we might be able to convince him," she countered.

"You think so?"

She nodded. "He won't directly say, but he does miss it. I think that if we give him the opportunity, he'll take it."

Roy smiled. "Well if you say so. I'll see if I can put in a request on Monday."

She returned his smile with one of her own. "And while we're at it, maybe we could try to go out with them every now and then."

Roy quirked a brow. "I agree, but why do you say that?"

Riza moved a shoulder up and down as she placed the broccoli on a cutting board and began slicing off the florets. "Edward said that Alphonse gets a little self-conscious sometimes. I guess they get people staring on occasion."

Roy's brows knitted together. "They've never mentioned it."

She shook her head. "They haven't. But perhaps it's because they don't want to worry us. Honestly, I hadn't even thought about it, but maybe it's because we've grown used to seeing the boys."

"Still," Roy replied crossly, "I'd prefer they say something if they feel uncomfortable at all."

Riza sighed. "I know. But you know how they can be sometimes. They never seem to want to step on our toes, save for the times Edward feels the need to get under your skin. I think they genuinely believe that a 'trivial matter' like that wouldn't be important to us.

"Maybe we could communicate that better with them," she added as she picked up her cutting board and scraped the florets into a bowl.

"We could sit them down next week and tell them," Roy offered as he pushed the meat around the pan again.

"I don't want to make it too obvious," she said, shaking her head again. "I hope you don't mind, but I've already set up a day for us to spend some time with them." When Roy lifted his brows, she explained, "I asked Edward if he and Alphonse could show me the stands they most enjoy next Friday. And though I know the majority of the market takes place during work hours, I think it would be nice to call it a day early so we could spend some time with them.

"Oh," Roy replied with a mischievous grin, "Looking to play hooky, are you?"

"Well, it won't be hooky when my superior officer tags along," she pointed out.

"True," he replied. "So what time are you thinking?"

"How about around two that day?"

Roy grinned. "Sounds good. It's a date then."

* * *

 **A/N:** _Admittedly this is not the chapter I had planned originally. The one I wanted to write (a sort of sequel to "Flame" is currently 3/4 of the way written, but I've been stuck on it for the past few months). This was written for Tumblr user murrchow for her birthday (and was inspired by this absolutely wonderful picture she created:_ _minmeiz .tumblr image/138435350034)_ _, and she agreed to let me submit it here! I promise I won't go that long without updating again for this fic. I have two more chapters (not including the one that is under construction) planned, one of which is the AU chapter, with the other being a sequel to this one._

 _So thank you for your patience, and I'll see you soon! And thank you for the reviews, favorites, and follows!_


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